FINANCIAL INSTRUMENTS WITH OFF-BALANCE SHEET RISK

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2011

Financial Instruments With Off Balance Sheet Risk Disclosure [Abstract]

Financial Instruments With Off Balance Sheet Risk Disclosure [Text Block]

NOTE 22. FINANCIAL INSTRUMENTS WITH OFF-BALANCE SHEET RISK

In the normal course of business, to meet the financing needs of its customers, the Banks are parties to financial instruments with off-balance sheet risk. These financial instruments include commitments to extend credit and standby letters of credit. The Banks’ exposure to credit loss in the event of nonperformance by the other party to these financial instruments is represented by the contractual amount of the instruments. The Banks use the same credit policies in making commitments and conditional obligations as they do for on-balance sheet instruments. The Banks generally require collateral or other security to support the financial instruments with credit risk. The amount of collateral or other security is determined based on management’s credit evaluation of the counterparty. The Banks evaluate each customer’s creditworthiness on a case-by-case basis.

Commitments to extend credit are agreements to lend to a customer as long as there is no violation of any condition established in the contract. Letters of credit are conditional commitments issued by the Banks to guarantee the performance of a customer to a third party. Letters of credit and other commitments generally have fixed expiration dates or other termination clauses and may require payment of a fee. Because many of the letters of credit and commitments are expected to expire without being drawn upon, the total commitment amount does not necessarily represent future cash requirements.

The following table provides information on commitments outstanding as of December 31, 2011 and 2010.

(Dollars in thousands)	2011		2010
Commitments to extend credit	$	136,222	$	137,078
Letters of credit		11,311		15,586
Total	$	147,533	$	152,664